


growing pains

by 101places



Series: swtor verse [3]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Darth Occlus - Freeform, Gen, Jedi, Light Side Sith Inquisitor, She's grey. but like. it doesnt really come up, She's not actually light side, Sith, Star Wars: The Old Republic - Shadow of Revan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27697891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/101places/pseuds/101places
Summary: The Barsen'thor and Darth Occlus spar.( AKA : i wanted to write them interacting thats it basically )
Relationships: Female Jedi Consular | Barsen'thor & Female Sith Inquisitor, Jedi Consular | Barsen'thor & Sith Inquisitor
Series: swtor verse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919299
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	growing pains

**Author's Note:**

> this isnt what i intended to write at all, so im going to write something else set around the same timeframe. this is a fairly decent introduction to their friendship though i think so im posting it anyway. also consular/lana is Very slightly implied but it doesnt really come up here
> 
> comments/kudos make me feel like im experiencing hope for the galaxies future for the first time

Nobody on Yavin was comfortable with the situation. The general sense of unease could be felt in the air, even by those who weren’t Force-Sensitive. The situation was unlike any that those gathered had experienced before - they all knew that it was necessary, they understood what was at stake, but that didn’t mean that any of them had to like it.

The Barsen’thor of the Jedi Order was also uncomfortable with the situation but, unlike many of the other soldiers present, she had experience.

While her time on Manaan- and, then, on Rishi- had been short, it had given her time to adjust to the new normal. She was also lucky in that she had always been more of an accepting type, having been taught by her Master the importance of accepting others regardless of their backgrounds. One only needed to look at Qyzen to know that she had no issue with difference.

Still, working with the Empire was far from a walk in the park for her.

As a child, she had been present during the Sacking of Coruscant. While she wouldn’t blame those who had no hand in the devastation, the trauma that she had been carrying for sixteen years wouldn’t be wiped away that easily.

Lana Beniko was a start, at least. From the beginning, the Barsen’thor had made an effort to treat the Sith with as much patience and understanding as she would anyone else. To her credit, Lana had made things particularly easy- for the most part, at least. They may not have agreed on everything, but the Barsen’thor was sure that, like her, Lana was trying her best to make things work.

In more ways than one, but as she looked over Republic and Imperial troops, trying and failing to cooperate, she decided that was a thought for another time.

“This isn’t going to work.” A Republic soldier spoke harshly, eyes narrowed at his Imperial counterparts, “I can’t work with Imp scum.”

An Imperial soldier took a step forward. “You think I want to work with you?”

Internally, the Barsen’thor sighed, and she took a breath to interrupt the fighting, but before she could utter a word someone else beat her to it.

“Now, what’s going on here?”

The new voice was light and female. The Imperial accent made it clear which faction the owner of it belonged to, even before she stepped into view. The woman carried herself with confidence, but she was unlike the other Imperials. There was no rigidity to her, no formality- she seemed relaxed. If it wasn’t for the mask that covered her face and her dark robes, she may have succeeded in reducing the tension.

As it was, the Imperial soldier stood to attention, while the Republic soldier’s hackles were further raised.

Knowing that the situation was bound to escalate further, the Barsen’thor finally revealed herself, taking a step towards the group, standing across from the Sith. “That’s what I would like to know, too.”

Her presence calmed the Republic soldier, she could tell instantly. The Imperial, on the other hand, tried to hide his scowl. The Barsen’thor tactfully ignored this.

“My Lord,” The Imperial began, a degree of reverence to his voice that surprised the Barsen’thor, “it, ah… there have been… complications-”

“What the snivelling bastard is trying to say, Master Jedi, is that we can’t work together.” The Republic soldier cut in with an eye roll.

“Can’t or won’t?” The Barsen’thor asked in the tone that she reserved- or,  _ had _ reserved- for Padawans on Tython.

The Republic soldier’s expression became strained. “With all due respect, Master Jedi, it’s difficult to work with someone who has spent years trying to destroy your way of life. I’m sure that  _ you _ understand.”

“Hypocrite.” The Imperial soldier sneered.

Before the Republic soldier could respond and start another argument, Darth Occlus raised her hand, drawing attention back to her.

“You’re a soldier, aren’t you? This is no different to other battles you’ve fought. You don’t have to like your allies, but you do have to work with them.”

The Imperial soldier opened his mouth a few times, before finally gaining the courage to speak. “Yes, of course, My Lord. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“Oh, for-” The Republic soldier cut in again, “Even when you set aside our personal feelings, we’re not compatible. Our training is entirely different! How are we supposed to fight side by side when we can’t understand each other’s tactics?”

“By learning.” Darth Occlus spoke dryly. “Let’s see, how about an example, Barsen’thor?”

The Barsen’thor took in the Sith Lord. There wasn’t much that she could guess about her from her appearance alone - she wore her lightsaber proudly on her belt, but that told her nothing about how she wielded it. While she knew a small amount about Darth Occlus, her knowledge was limited.

As Occlus said, this could be a learning opportunity.

So the Barsen’thor stepped forwards, meeting Occlus at the center of the ruin. The soldiers scattered back as they realised what was happening, and a few curious bystanders began to watch.

“This is just a spar,” The Barsen’thor spoke, raising her voice so it carried to their audience, “for purely educational purposes.”

“Winner is whomever disarms their opponent first. No permanent injuries. This lowered ground is the arena- movement outside is an automatic disqualification. Agreed?”

The Barsen’thor considered Occlus’s terms, before nodding and holding out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, Occlus shook the Barsen’thor’s hand.

Drawing back, the two began to circle each other, probing subtly with the Force to gain an understanding of the other's power. Occlus was powerful. The Barsen’thor would have been a fool to not recognise this - but there was something about that power that drew her attention. Something strange that she hadn’t felt before.

What was Occlus?

There was no time to think further on Occlus’s nature, as the pair raised their sabers and began their duel, but the Barsen’thor found her mind wandering as they clashed in the center of the clearing.

This wasn’t the first time that the Barsen’thor had fought a Sith, but it was the first time that she had fought one where her life wasn’t in danger. In the past, she had been too concerned with keeping herself alive and protecting any bystanders to exhaust too much energy on analysis - something that had always privately been a shame to her.

But here, now, she could spare some thought on Occlus’s style. It was overall different to the Jedi, and the Barsen’thor herself. It didn’t match any of the lightsaber forms that her Masters had attempted to teach her in her youth - it was its own thing. The Barsen’thor wondered if Occlus’s style was typical amongst the Sith, or whether it was unique even amongst them.

There was power behind Occlus’s strikes, but the Barsen’thor could see a similarity between them in the way that she attacked. The slightest of hesitations, of  _ uncertainty _ , that hinted that lightsaber combat was not Occlus’s preferred method of attack. Interesting, the Barsen’thor thought, that a Sith would have something in common with her.

The pair continued to parry, both of them coming to the same conclusion that they were more or less evenly matched. It seemed that they would need something more to find a victor here.

The Barsen’thor gathered the Force around her, increasing her speed, but it seemed that Occlus had the same idea. Their dance continued, but now at a speed that their audience couldn’t quite keep track of. To them, it looked like a spiral of purple and green - beautiful, but impossible to tell what was happening.

If lightsaber combat wasn’t enough to determine the victor, then fine. The Barsen’thor pushed Occlus away using the Force and bounced back a few feet herself. Ranged combat had always been where she excelled.

In accordance with the rules, she kept her lightsaber drawn at her side, and used her free hand to bring the Force to her.

She started by causing the ground to quake under Occlus’s feet, but the Sith was quick to respond, continuing to move to make it difficult for the Barsen’thor to aim. That was fine - the Barsen’thor had more than one tactic in mind.

She continued to move back, mindful of the edge of the arena in case Occlus planned to trick her into stepping out of bounds, and as she moved she brought the Force to her again, picking up a large piece of debris a short distance away and flinging it in Occlus’s direction. To the Barsen’thor surprise, instead of dodging or using the Force to redirect it, Occlus stood her ground and sliced clean through it, causing the two halves to tumble harmlessly to the ground either side of her.

The Barsen’thor was privately impressed - such an action took courage. Occlus would have had no way of knowing for sure that the debris would be weak enough to be cut so easily.

Occlus brushed the dust that had rained down on her from the sliced rock from her shoulder casually, before raising her head to look back at the Barsen’thor once more, her free hand coming up to invite the Barsen’thor to try again.

It was clear that Occlus was powerful, confident, and willing to take this duel seriously. The Barsen’thor glanced out of the corner of her eyes at the gathered crowd, both Imperial and Republic, watching in anticipation, and she smiled.

Occlus was taking this seriously because it was serious.

It was more than serious. It was ground-breaking. Here they were, Jedi and Sith, Republic and Empire, working together towards one common goal. Perhaps tomorrow they would return to being enemies, but that didn’t change what they were doing - what they were proving.

They could work together.

The Barsen’thor had never sparred with a Sith before, but she would like to again in the future, so she fell back into a fighting stance and centered herself in the Force.

She would teach Darth Occlus what it meant to be a Jedi and, hopefully, she would be able to learn from her, too.


End file.
